Thread severing and holding device



Oct. 6, 1936. J. 1 BUNKER ET AL E 2,056,342

THREAD SEVERING AND HOLDING DEVICE Filed March 25, 1955 INVENTORS WWW Patented Oct. 6, 1936 2,056,342

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THREAD SEVERING AND HOLDING DEVICE Lydia J. P. Bunker and Dallas R. Trinkle, Oakland, Calif.; said Trinkle assignor to said Bunker Application March 25, 1935, Serial No. 12,998

12 Claims. (01. 242-426) This invention relates to thread severing and comprises a disc I3 having a sleeve I3A rigid holding means and more particularly to a portatherewith and adapted to enter and be retained ble device for mounting on a spool of sewing rigidly within the bore of a standard spool ll. thread to sever the thread where desired and to means such as extrusions I5 and I6 being emhold the free end of thread from further unployed to retain said sleeve against rotation in winding. said bore. Rotatably mounted on sleeve I3A ad- An object of the invention is the provision of jacent to disc I3 is a second disc I4, and one of a thread severing device which will releasably resaid discs should be sufliciently resilient adjacent tain a free end of thread in a protected position its peripheral portion to permit it to yield suffi- 10 from accidental release by contact with other sewciently to clamp the free end of thread between 10 ing equipment. Likewise the thread end is prothe discs.

tected from fraying which would make subse- A plurality of tongues 20 are formed from the quent threading of a needle very difficult. stock of disc I4, as it is clearly shown in Figure A further object of the invention is to provide 4. The points 20A are radially and angularly armeans for mechanically releasing the free end ranged to mate with holes I9 pierced in the 00- 15 of thread when it is desirable to unwind more operating disc I3. These tongues are adapted to thread from the spool. function in cooperation with these holes as pawls An object of the invention is to provide such a and are formed considerably above the plane of thread severing and holding device that does disc I4 so that they may be depressed when disc 2) not interfere with the free unwinding of thread I3 and disc I4 are assembled as shown in Figure 3.

when the spool is used on a sewing machine. The formation of tongues is such that at the A further object is the provision of a severing edge marked 29B the thread can not be drawn and holding means that is adapted to a wide freely between the two planes of the metal and range of sizes in spools which have an equal here. this junction of the tongue with the disc forms The invention provides means for severing and a sharp cutting edge adapted to sever the thread holding the thread that does not obscure the size, I2 when it is pulled into the position shown in color and amount of thread on the spool. Figure 4.

Another object is to provide a severing and The extruded points such as 2| and 22 hold holding means for thread that prevents the spool the disc I I closely in contact with a formed rim 3 from rolling freely when placed or accidently I3B of disc I3. It should be understood that the 30 dropped on a flat surface. position of disc M on the sleeve I3A is such that The invention further provides a severing and tongues 20 are all slightly deflected to insure holding device that can be easily and quickly their engagement in holes I9 and that a gentle changed from an empty spool to a full one. resilient pressure is exerted between rim I33 and 35 Other objects and uses of the invention will be the disc I4. 35 obvious from the following description and the One method of utilizing the invention on a accompanying drawing, wherein: spool of thread is as follows: The device is con- Fig. 1 is an isometric View of the invention as nected to one end of the spool with the thread it appears when attached to a spool. winding in clockwise direction as viewed in Fig- Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the device. ure 1. With the end of thread IZA held in the 40 Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken subright hand and the first finger and thumb of the stantially on lines 3-3 of the Fig. 2. left hand slightly pressed into the hole at the Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the severing top and bottom of the spool, any desired portion and releasing disc as it appears when detached of the thread can be very conveniently unwound.

from the other portion of the device. By holding the spool more firmly to prevent fur- 45 In a preferred form, as shown, the device comther turning, and shifting the right hand to grasp prises a pair of discs rotatably mounted with rethe thread near the spool it is a simple operaspect to each other and adapted for mounting tion to loop the thread around any one of the pluon one end of a standard thread spool. One of rality of hooks MA and draw it between disc I3 the said discs is provided with thread severing and the disc It until the knife edge 20B severs the 50 means, and the two discs cooperate to resiliently thread. The portion thus cut oil may then be retain the free end of thread between them, subpulled from between the rim I3B and the disc ject to freeing thereof by relative rotation of the I4. di In forming hooks such as MA the stock is rolled Referring to the drawing in detail the device as indicated in the Figures 2 and 4 by the two '55 sets of dotted lines at NC to present a smooth and rounded surface which will not cut the thread. The free end of the thread still connected to the spool is held by the gripping action of the rim 13B and the disc l4, and in this condition the spool can be placed with the other sewing equipment without the objectionable menace of the thread unwinding and tangling.

When it is desirable to unwind more thread, the free end may be released by holding the spool firmly in one hand, with the other hand gripping the disc M at any of the knurled surfaces such as MB and then turning it clockwise for a short distance as indicated by arrows 23.

Since the device is assembled on the spool with the thread winding in the same direction that the disc I4 is permitted to turn it is evident that the hook MA attempts to rewind the thread onto the spool, with the result that the free end is pulled from the yieldable grip of the rim HE and the disc l4.

When the spool to which the invention is attached is empty of thread the device can be removed by a pulling action exerted in a longitudinal direction and then connected to a new spool.

When not holding the thread the invention in no way interferes with the free and normal turning of the spool, whether the thread is used for hand sewing or on a sewing machine.

During the releasing operation the pawl points 20A are all depressed as the disc I4 is rotated and they are again allowed to snap into the holes l9 when a predetermined portion of a revolution has been made. The pawl action prevents the disc I 4 from being turned counter-clockwise when the thread is looped around any one of the hooks MA and drawn into a knife for severing. It is obvious that the number of knives and hooks can be slightly increased or decreased without any marked difference in the operation of the device, nevertheless, it is preferable to use six hooks and six knives with approximately the same angular relationship between them as shown in the drawing.

The distance between any hook I 4A and its corresponding knife 20B is slightly less than the distance advanced by the hooks relative to the spool during one sixth of a revolution of the disc 14, therefore, the thread end is pulled free of the disc I4 and rim I3B during the releasing operation.

By using no more than six hooks on disc l4 ample space is provided for a practical length of tongues 20 and the hooks MA are far enough apart to prevent the spool to which the invention is attached from rolling freely when placed or accidentally dropped on a flat surface. A further advantage of having no less than six sets of hooks and knives resides in the fact that one set is always conveniently available for severing and retaining the thread when the spool is positioned in the operators hand.

It is evident that one hole IS in disc l3 would serve a plurality of pawl points and likewise a single pawl point would function dependa-bly with a plurality of holes, but as an article of manufacture the operation is smoother and more dependable when the invention is constructed as disclosed in the drawing.

It is within the scope of this invention to construct a metal spool with a structure similar to the one heretofore disclosed forming a permanent part of one end thereof. It is also possible to form a rim such as lSB on the movable disclocated'nextto the spool and likewise arrange the formation of tongues and knives in the stationary disc such as 13. This construction lacks the advantages of the embodiment disclosed in the drawing and previously described inasmuch as little fiat surface would be available in the outside disc for embossing or printing of advertising matter thereon.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be apparent that many modifications and other applications thereof are possible, and the invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in so far as is necessitated by the prior art and by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a spool, a fixed member connected thereto and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means upon movement of said movable member.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a spool, a fixed member connected thereto and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means and withdraw it from said shielding means upon movement of said movable member.

3. In a spool attachment, a fixed member having means associated therewith for attaching said member to a spool and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means upon movement of said movable members.

4. In a spool attachment, a fixed member having means associated therewith for attaching said member to a spool and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means and withdraw it from said shielding means upon movement of said movable member.

5. A device of the class described, comprising a spool, a fixed member connected thereto and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with one of the members to sever the thread when it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means, upon movement of said movable member.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a spool, a fixed member connected thereto and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with one of the members to sever the thread when it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with the said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means and withdraw it from said shielding means upon movement of said movable member.

7. In a spool attachment, a fixed member having means associated therewith for attaching said member to a spool and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with one of the members to sever the thread when it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means upon movement of said movable member.

8. In a spool attachment, a fixed member having means associated therewith for attaching said member to a spool and a member movable with respect to said fixed member and cooperating therewith to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with one of the members to sever the thread when it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means and withdraw it from said shielding means upon movement of said movable member.

9. A device of the class described, comprising a disc having means associated therewith for attaching said disc to a spool and a member movable with respect to said disc and frictionally held against a portion thereof to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with the movable member for severing the thread as it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means upon rotation of said movable member.

10. A device of the class described, comprising a disc having means associated therewith for attaching said disc to a spool and a member movable with respect to said disc and frictionally held against a portion thereof to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with the movable member for severing the thread as it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means and withdraw it from said shielding means upon rotation of said movable member.

11. A device of the class described, comprising a disc with a central sleeve adapted to frictionally engage within one end of the bore of a spool and a member movable with respect to said disc and frictionally held against a portion thereof to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with the movable member for severing the thread as it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means and withdraw it from said shielding means upon rotation of said movable member.

12. In a spool attachment, a disc comprising a central sleeve adapted to frictionally engage within one end of the bore of a spool and a rim formation in the disc disposed in the direction of the sleeve, a member movable with respect to said disc and frictionally held against the rim portion thereof to retain and shield a free end of thread from said spool, means associated with the movable member for severing the thread as it is drawn into the retaining means and drawn against the severing means, and means associated with said movable member to release the free end of thread from said retaining means and withdraw it from said shielding means upon rotation of said movable member.

LYDIA J. P. BUNKER. DALLAS R. TRINKLE. 

